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Original poster

To think there's life after getting a 2.2

159 replies

GladToBeGlobal · 20/06/2014 13:50

It's that time of year again. I've been consoling lots of students who've narrowly missed out on their 2.1 or their First. I really mean it when I tell them a 2.2 is still an achievement and a valid qualification. Unfortunately many people out there in the world think differently. Sad

Please tell me your stories of success in life after a disappointing degree result.

OP posts:
ifyourehoppyandyouknowit · 20/06/2014 14:47

I have a first and have done exactly Jack Shit with it. Degree is not the be all and end all.

PeachandRaspberry · 20/06/2014 14:48

You can't make a blanket statement, it depends where you went and what you want to do.

Fuckalella · 20/06/2014 14:50

My sil has a 2.2, she's doing really well in her career and is currently in a senior position with a well known bank. At the moment her salary is higher than DB who got a 2.1.

farewellfigure · 20/06/2014 14:51

I got a Desmond. It hasn't made a blind bit of difference. I'm not even sure if I've ever actually been asked. I'm still working in my chosen profession 20 years later.

My career went down the toilet when I left to have DS and then returned part time, but that's a whole other thread.

SteeleyeSpanx · 20/06/2014 14:54

It's still gutting though. There was a problem with the post in my area when my results came out (I'm old).

I had to phone the department to get my classification and I remember the tone of voice in which the administrator told me "oh, you got a 2:2"

She might as well have said "you've just flushed the whole of your future down the pan"

I fear that nowadays, with degrees being pretty much expected for any kind of job, a 2:2 might be even worse tbh Sad

MrsBungle · 20/06/2014 14:58

Well I got a 2:1 and dh got a 2:2. We bothy have good careers but he earns far more than I do! I agree, no one has taken any notice of the class of either of our degrees.

Blithereens · 20/06/2014 14:58

DH got a 2:2 and has v good finance job. I've only just finished my degree at 33 and I work in publishing. Life goes on! Disappointing at the time tho x

APlaceInTheSummer · 20/06/2014 14:58

I got a 2.2 . My ddad became seriously ill in my final year and I should probably have accessed more support from uni but didn't.

Anyway, two years after graduating, I was working in my chosen field for an internationally recognised company. A year later, I'd been promoted to a more senior position and my career continued to go from strength to strength.

I've often used the skills and knowledge I gained at university but the ranking of my degree has never had any impact.

twistedsista · 20/06/2014 14:58

My friend got a 3, I didn't even know they existed. She's now a school teacher, was never the sharpest tool in the box..

annielouise · 20/06/2014 15:00

I think a 2.2 for my generation was considered good although I think it's worth less now, sorry as more are getting first and 2.1's. A first was very extraordinary 25 years ago, less so now so it depends when the degree was done. I can't pinpoint when it would have all changed. Btw, I got a 2.2 25 years ago as I didn't work. A few years ago I paid to do the last year (I got an HND for the first 2 years) just to make my degree look better for self-satisfaction more than anything and got a first. I would never have got that 25 years ago based on what I did. I think first now is like a 2.1 for my generation.

Whatdoiknowanyway · 20/06/2014 15:05

I think it's hard to compare what we got, 10, 20 or (in my case) 30 years ago to modern day. My DD was not eligible to apply to Sainsbury's graduate scheme as she did not get straight As at A level - never mind her degree (2.1 as it happens). Things are much, much tougher out there now.

I agree that a 2.2 is far from the end of the world but it's looked on much less leniently now than it was in 'my day'

goshhhhhh · 20/06/2014 15:05
  • Stanleyspanx- I can't help myself - can you tell us whatyou do now without outing yourself?
BiddyPop · 20/06/2014 15:07

I got a pass in biochemistry from a respected Uni. I now have 2 further Diplomas (both earned by night while working, one language, one related to work), a Masters in Economics, and am doing very well at work (Civil Service so promotions have dried up, but I am the top of the middle management structure, have a team and have a particular role that involves a heck of a lot of dealing with the political system amongst other things).

And while my degree is not great, and not directly related to my work, it certainly gave me some inkling of how to work and study, and also gave me plenty of useful skills that I do use at work now (policy and data analysis, formal report writing, working in teams.....).

Definitely all is not lost.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 20/06/2014 15:07

Depends on the uni and the course I think but generally it's done me no harm. Got my 2:2 from a v good uni though. I'm very glad I worked hard at second level and got in there. I just stick 2nd Class Honours on my CV which is what my cert says in latin..... Blush

Generally, though I have a good degree from a good university I've found that decent Microsoft Office skills have been the most useful thing to have in life. A recent graduate with advanced excel and word, plus decent typing skills and the ability to spell and construct a sentence would get them straight to the top of my interview pile for an entry level position.

grumpasaur · 20/06/2014 15:10

I have found that no one ever really asks! Which drives me crazy as I don't then get the opportunity to boast that I got firsts / honours in both my degrees and my masters also! Should have partied more and studied less; hasn't made a blind bit of difference that I didn't!

MothershipG · 20/06/2014 15:10

I got a third, geography BA. Was absolutely sick to the back teeth of being educated, it was as much as I could do to finish the blasted degree thing.

There was no way I wanted to study a minute longer so it was completely irrelevant what class of degree I achieved, I ended up with a good job in IT.

twisted What a nasty post, so anyone with less than a 2.2 is not very bright? What a bigotted opinion.

TreadSoftlyOnMyDreams · 20/06/2014 15:12

What might be useful is to point to successful alumni who have also got 2:2s?

glasgowstevenagain · 20/06/2014 15:14

In scotland - so slightly different.

left after 3rd year with a general science pass degree (well done for attending) - never attempted honours as had bluffed my way till that point.

Worked for 10 years - made redundant, applied for a PGdip course in business.

Passed that - asked to stay on for the summer Masters project.

Passed that - offered a job in the department for 1 year - doing a research project.

at the end of that year a funded phd appeared - did that.

Now working in industry earning more than I could have dreamed of.

I was far too immature for uni when I was 21 and was lucky to have passed.....

When I went back I was more focused and then got somewhere and now am a big shot.........

I never mention my pass degree now :)

SarcyMare · 20/06/2014 15:14

i got a third, have never once been asked what i got. have a job i am really happy in, doing what my degree qualified me for.

TheReluctantCountess · 20/06/2014 15:15

I have a 2:2. I'm a teacher, but many teaching jobs ask for a 2:1 or a first.

SourSweets · 20/06/2014 15:16

I got a 2.2. Didn't bother me at all at the time (although I did art so had the excuse of subjectivity). Hasn't harmed my career at all.

MrsDe · 20/06/2014 15:17

Oh I remember that disapointment.

I got a 2.2 and I must say it has made following my chosen career (law) VERY hard. However, I'm now a senior solicitor in a well respected city law firm, so got there in the end. I didn't even go to a "proper university" either - just a poly. So, I've had to work incredibly hard to get where I am just to provde to people I can do it. If I had a 2.1 or a first I think the journey would have been much easier!!!

madwomanbackintheattic · 20/06/2014 15:19

Dh got a 2.2, I got a first. He earns four times my salary. No one in RL is remotely interested in degree classifications.

I'm afraid I can't tell you about my successes in life after a disappointing degree result, but I can tell you about my disappointing life after a successful degree result?

I'm really not sure that the two things have any correlation at all, to be honest, despite what the education industry would have you believe...

museumum · 20/06/2014 15:19

I got a 2:2 because I chose modules I thought sounded interesting rather than the ones I knew I could get a decent mark in. I also studied hard technical courses. I could have got a 2:1 if I'd been strategic but I followed my interests instead. I also spent time on student clubs when I should have been studying.
The interests took me to a very very prestigious MSc course in a related field but not actually the same so places were awarded on interview and the experience I'd gained in my student clubs rather than degree classification. Since I got the MSc nobody has ever asked for the class of my BSc. I also have another PgDip. I have a fantastic career.

HatieKokpins · 20/06/2014 15:21

No one's ever asked my degree classification. I have a third. I'm in a profession, in a managerial position, and I'm fairly "well-known" in certain circles because of a hobby I have.

I'm not ashamed of my degree, if I'd been asked for the details, I'd have given them, but my third hasn't made a blind jot of difference to my life whatsoever.